2014 Tour de France to start in Yorkshire, England

PARIS - The 2014 Tour de France will start in the northeastern English county of Yorkshire.

The Tour has begun once before in Britain - in London in 2007.

The selection of Yorkshire for the 2014 start comes a few months after Bradley Wiggins became the first British rider to win the Tour in its 109-year history.

Tour organizers said Friday that preliminary details of the course route for the 2014 race will be presented at a news conference on Jan. 17.

British cycling has been on a high in recent months, with strong showings for the national team on the track at the London Olympics and huge fan turnout along the roads for the time-trial and road race events.